1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power-supply starter apparatus for a capsule-type medical device for starting power supply for each function executing unit in a capsule-type medical device such as a swallowable capsule endoscope which is inserted into a subject to acquire intra-subject information such as image information of an interior of the subject, a start method of the capsule-type medical device, and a stop method of power supply for the capsule-type medical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a capsule endoscope equipped with an image pickup function and a radio function has appeared in a field of endoscope. The capsule endoscope is configured to move inside organs such as the stomach and small intestine (inside body cavities) following peristaltic movements thereof during an observation period after being swallowed by a patient, which is a subject, for observation (examination) until naturally discharged from a living body (human body) of the subject, and to successively pick up images using the image pickup function.
Image data captured by the capsule endoscope inside body cavities during the observation period while the capsule endoscope moves inside the organs is sequentially transmitted by the radio function such as radio communication to an external device provided outside the subject and stored in a memory provided inside the external device. By carrying the external device with the radio function and memory function, the subject can move freely without inconvenience during an observation period, i.e., after swallowing the capsule endoscope until discharging the same. After the observation, a doctor or a nurse can make a diagnosis by displaying body-cavity images on a display unit such as a display based on the image data accumulated in the memory of the external device.
One type of the above capsule endoscopes is described in, for example, WO 01/35813, which proposes a configuration of a capsule endoscope having internally a reed switch turned on/off by an external magnetic field to control driving of a capsule endoscope and contained in a package including a permanent magnet supplying the external magnetic field. The reed switch provided in the capsule endoscope maintains an off state in an environment in which a magnetic field of a certain intensity or more is provided and is turned on when the external field intensity decreases. Thus, the capsule endoscope is not driven while contained in a package. Then, when the capsule endoscope is taken out from the package to be swallowed, driving of the capsule endoscope starts since an influence of magnetic force being exerted on the capsule endoscope disappears as the capsule endoscope moves away from the permanent magnet. By providing such a configuration, driving of the capsule endoscope can be prevented when contained in a package, and after being taken out of the package, images are taken by the image pickup function of the capsule endoscope, with image signals being transmitted by the radio function.
However, such a device has a problem that, since it takes some time after the capsule endoscope is taken out of the package until introduced into the subject, each function of the capsule endoscope, for example, the image pickup function and the radio function, starts driving in the meantime and the image pickup function performs an image pickup operation of images and, further, the radio function performs a radio transmission operation of picked-up images and thus power stored in the capsule endoscope is wasted.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-223473 discloses a configuration in which a starter is inserted into an inner lid unit and rotated up to 90° in a circumferential direction of the capsule endoscope to turn on the capsule endoscope.
However, such a configuration has a problem that, if the starter is rotated fast, the reed switch may not be turned on/off correctly and thus the capsule endoscope cannot be turned on reliably.